On the Other Side
by DarkinUnderground
Summary: Even in death a nation's ambition does not fade. They will continue to seek power, and any wrongs done them shall be rectified. Be warry, or be caught in the crossfire...
1. Prologue

**This is the result of watching too many HetaOni videos on Youtube and reading comics on Zerochan where Prussia disappears… They were depressing, but they did get me thinking: what happens to a nation after they disappear? Do nations get an afterlife? If they do, what's it like and would those defeated nations try to find a way to take their revenge? This is what I came up with!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or its respective characters, but I do claim this story's plot.**

**Enjoy!**

O-O-O-O-O

_**Prologue**_

**~Unknown Location (1) ~**

"Have you completed the preparations?"

"Yes sir! We are activating the circle now."

Smiling childishly, his violet eyes narrowing, the once powerful nation watched in anticipation as his soldiers scrambled to activate the circle.

Intricate runes and symbols arranged in a circle in the room's center pulsed violently. Mystic symbols stolen from his victims collided dangerously in the form of lightning, their individual powers and purposes battling viciously for dominance. An ominous purple light filled the room.

"Sir, the circle is becoming unstable!" A soldier cried in panic.

"Do not move." The violet-eyed man commanded calmly, quietly.

All the men froze, fearing what the ex-Nation would do to them if they ignored the order more than the unstable magic pulsating through the room. Striding forward, the man calmly withdrew a pipe from the folds of his coat, and stepping into the center of the battling mystical energy, he slammed the pipe into the circle's center. Lightning once again shot from the circle before fizzling out into nothing. The dark purple aura that once filled the room dulled.

Smiling pleasantly, the violet-eyed man turned to the stunned men. "It just needed something to focus its energy through. Now then, let us continue. I will take back what was once mine~."

**~Unknown Location (2) ~**

"Sir, all systems are green and we are awaiting your orders."

"Very good, you may begin."

"Yes sir!"

Watching his men work the controls of the machine, the cerulean eyed man kept his professional air, even as his heart pounded with excitement. He had spent tireless years working on this machine's design, and today would be the day that he and his men would be rewarded for their hard work. In the center of the room sat a platform surrounded by the bulk of the machine, consoles and memory banks alike whirred with life. To the blue-eyed man's immediate left sat the main console, and working diligently at the consoles controls was one of the blue-eyed man's most trusted soldiers.

"Sir, there seems to some another power signature coming from an unknown source!" The soldier working at the main console informed his superior.

Eyes narrowing, the man was quick to question. "Will this 'power signature' interfere with our plans?"

The sound of furious typing filled the room.

"The power signature seems to be focusing on another target, sir."

"Then we continue as planned. I will reclaim what was mine."

**~Italy's House~**

Italy loved watching his brother cook. It was like watching art in motion, and since Romano hardly ever volunteered to cook it was always a treat. The way his brother moved around the kitchen would put professional dancers to shame! Romano was always precise in his movements, never wasting a single step in his work. Watching his brother, Italy couldn't help but smile.

_I finally get to spend time with fratello~!_ He mentally sang. "Ve~, fratello, is the pasta done?"

"Idiota!" His brother raged. "I'm making chicken and spinach alfredo lasagna! I wanted something different for a change, that and its healthy for you! N-not that I care about your health or anything! I don't care that you've eaten nothing but wurst with that potato-bastard all week, and it's not like I'm trying to balance out your diet! Chigi!"

Italy smiled happily at his brother, despite his little rant. "Grazie fratello~!"

"Sh-shut up!"

**~Germany's House~**

_Bruder…_

Germany stared in exasperation at his older brother. Prussia lay sprawled on his couch; beer bottles and cans were strewn half-hazardly around the living room. Out of the corner of his eye, Germany could see the prone body of France passed out on the stairs. Where Spain was passed out Germany could only guess, he didn't really want to know either.

Once again sighing in exasperation, Germany left his brother passed out on the couch to retrieve a trash bag and clean up the mess. He could scold his brother tomorrow, while he still had a hangover.

**~Unknown Location (1)~**

"We have established a link to your intended target, sir."

A cruel smile spread across the violet-eyed man's face. "Create the bridge."

**~Unknown Location (2)~**

"A connection has been made, sir."

A nod of approval was the blue-eyed man's answer. "Continue through with the plan."

**~Italy's House~**

Italy and Romano both screamed in terror as lightning filled their kitchen and a portal opened up underneath Romano's feet. Without warning, and the brothers' horror, Romano began to sink into the portal's center.

Panicked, and not wanting to lose his brother again, Italy grabbed one of his brother's flailing arms and tried to pull him out. Unfortunately, the portals pull was too strong for the little Italians miniscule strength, and still screaming, he and his brother were sucked into the portal's depths.

**~Germany's House~**

Something that sounded suspiciously like thunder tore Germany from his unfruitful search for the trash bags. Straightening up in surprise Germany tried to pinpoint where the sound had come from. It hadn't come from outside, the night sky was clear. If it hadn't come from outside, then where…

_Gilbert!_

Sprinting to the living room, Germany frantically searched for his brother. But it was too late, Prussia, and the couch, where gone.

O-O-O-O-O

**So, what'cha thing? Good? Bad? Tell me how I did!**

**Review!**

**Translations:**

**~Italian~  
Fratello = Brother  
Idiota = Idiot  
Grazie = Thank You**

**~German~  
Bruder = Brother**


	2. Waking Nightmare

**Bleh, I am now officially sick of the word "awesome"! Prussia I blame you!**

**Anyway, here is chapter 1! Things are starting to pick up!**

**As for my reviewers:  
****lasagnalover****: Glad you liked it! I'm happy to find that I kept the characters in character. That's always a big issue for me… America the villain? Perish thought! Never! You won't have to worry about that! But there is a twist, "Russia" isn't the bag guy either~. Hope you enjoy what I have in store.**

**PickleToast****: Say what? *consults Italian for Dummies* Well I'll be, I need to work on my grammar! I'll have that fixed real quick! I hope you'll continue to help me with my mishaps with the Italian language! Also, glad you like the story. Hopefully this chapter won't disappoint.**

**Warning: Dark themes, Prussia's over use of the word awesome, Romano's mouth, and cruelty.**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot and OC nations, other than that I got nothin'.**

_**Italics are for the dream sequence and thoughts. **_

Chapter 1: Waking Nightmare

Prussia was having an awesome dream. Well, not as awesome as Prussia himself! No one is as awesome as Prussia, but even so it was still awesome an awesome dream.

"_Hold it right there evil scum!" The awesome Prussia exclaimed. Brandishing his sword Prussia stood ready to fight._

_In front of our awesome hero stood his greatest foe, the grotesque and extremely evil Austrian Pianist. The Austrian Pianist's evil knew no bounds; he had captured and enslaved the beautiful maiden Elizabeta Héderváry of Hungary. No one but the evil Austrian Pianist would be so cruel as to force the fair maiden to work day in and day out as a house maid, and to make things worse, he forced her to listen to his horrid music! That horrible music, its dastardly tones could break glass and pop ear drums! _

"_Ah, the Awesome Prussia! I have been waiting for you." Sneered the Austrian Pianist. "You may be awesome, but you are not awesome enough to defeat me!"_

"_We'll see about that!" The awesome Prussia declared, heroically. _

_And then they clashed. Prussia slashed with his sword, but the little weasel was too quick! Quickly dashing out of the swords path the dastardly Austrian Pianist put distance between himself and the awesome hero before he summoned his greatest weapon: his piano. Delicately sitting himself on the stool, the Austrian Pianist began to play._

_A sound equivalent to fingernails on a chalkboard filled the room. Prussia was forced onto his knees by the horrible sound. Thunder and lightning soon followed. The sheer volume of the thunder shook the room, and the lightning came so close to hitting Prussia that he could feel its heat._

_Fighting his way to his feet, our hero stood tall. "It'll take more than that to stop me!"_

_Austrian Pianist only laughed._

_Growling in anger, Prussia charged. Ignoring the deafening sounds of the piano, Prussia leapt into the air, his sword raised. Before he could bring his sword down on the piano an invisible force slammed into Prussia, sending him careening across the room and leaving him sprawled on the hard concrete floor…_

Prussia blinked into consciousness. Staring in confusion, Prussia came to the realization that he **really** was on the floor.

_Huh,_ He thought sluggishly. _When did that happen? And why do I smell smoke?_

"Sir, the circle has caught fire!" A panicked voice cried, catching Prussia's attention.

Looking up from where he had initially been staring at the floor, Prussia came to another shocking conclusion.

"I'm sitting in the middle of a fire circle!" He shrieked. "Why am I sitting in a fire circle? West, if this your way of paying me back for having a party in the house than you're not funny!"

"We have an intruder! All personnel put out the fire and find the intruder!" A different voice commanded.

"Where is he?"

"The voice came from inside the circle!"

"That's impossible!"

"How would they have gotten in the circle's center?"

_Ugh, too many voices. And why do they have to be so loud_? Prussia thought miserably, his hangover finally making itself known.

"Enough." A different voice commanded. Prussia perked up at hearing the voice.

_That voice… It sounds familiar…but who? _

Without warning, a figure materialized in the blaze. He was walking straight through the flames! But, he didn't seem concerned by the heat or the fire licking at his legs. As he got close enough to see Prussia clearly through all the smoke, he smiled.

"Ah, comrade Prussia. It has been too long." The man purred happily.

"R-russia?" Prussia sputtered. "What's the meaning of this you abominable snow monster!"

If it was possible, the man's smile seemed to get wider. "You wound me, comrade. Have you forgotten me already? An after everything we have been through?"

When Prussia didn't answer the Russian man's smile faltered for a split second before returning full force.

"Why comrade, I am the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics~." He sang childishly. "Others have called me USSR for short, but their favorite name for me is the Soviet Union."

A cold chill ran up Prussia's spine. If what this man claimed was true, than he…

**Crack!**

Prussia limply fell to the floor. Above him, the Soviet Union calmly returned the pipe he had used to knock out the Prussian man to the folds of his military coat.

Turning to his men who had just finished putting out the flames he calmly ordered. "Take this man to his usual room, I will deal with him later" As two soldiers moved forward to do as told, Soviet Union turned to the other soldiers. "What happened? A portal connecting our world to the living world was supposed to be created by using Prussia's life force. Why did it bring him here instead?"

None of the men had the courage, or the knowledge, to answer him.

"Well?" Soviet Union inquired again, his tone taking on a tone that promised that someone would die if he wasn't answered.

"There was interference in the spell, Sir." An elderly voice answered.

The other soldiers respectfully moved out of their senior officer's way as he made to stand before Soviet Union.

"What do you mean?"

"In the middle of our spell I felt another energy source make itself known, but before anything could be done it was too late." The elderly man explained.

"I see." Soviet Union mused. "Someone has interfered with my plans… Very well, I will find the fool who interfered with my plans, and I will make them suffer. While I'm gone, I want you to keep the Prussian drugged. I want to keep his suffering for myself~"

As Soviet Union made to leave, all the men silently heaved a sigh of relief. Their nation wouldn't be killing any of their own today.

"Oh, and before I forget." Soviet Union suddenly turned to face his men. "Kill the old man; I will not tolerate any mistakes in my unit. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" All the men answered, terrified.

"Very good~."

Least they incur the wrath of their leader, and with heavy hearts; the soldiers shot the old man. Soviet Union laughing sadistically through the whole process.

O-O-O-O-O

Romano groaned in discomfort.

_What the hell is wrong with my bed? I had this thing custom made, dammit! It shouldn't be this uncomfortable!_ Romano mentally complained as he regained consciousness.

Opening an eye in exasperation, ready to rip someone a new ass, Romano came to the unsettling conclusion he wasn't laying in his bed. Last he checked, he didn't have a concrete ceiling or heaps of machines strewn everywhere, and lets not mention the smoke. Romano's a person that likes his personal space to be neat, well neat-ish, but even so. There's no way this filth would be anywhere in his house! Hell, even Feliciano didn't have this much crap lying around! Wait, where was his brother?

Ve~, patsaaa."

Glancing down, Romano was rewarded with the sight of his brother curled up to hip, snoring peacefully. Any other person would be touched by the sight, but Romano wasn't like "any other person".

"Chigi, get up you idiota! I'm not your damn pillow!" He roared.

"Ve!" Squealing in fright, Italy sat bolt upright. Frantically looking around, Italy's honey brown eyes locked with his brother's. Without a second thought, Italy attached himself to Romano's waist. "Fratello! I had the scariest dream, you were swallowed up by a nasty slim monster, I tried to save you but he got me too. Th-then I couldn't see, and then another scary monster popped up out of nowhere and roared ate me! Veee, I was sooo scared!"

Before Romano could respond, another voice cut him off, it was then that Romano realized that there were other people in the room besides Feliciano and himself.

"Sir, the machines have been severely damaged in the resulting backlash. It appears the other power signature did interfere with our plans."

"Can you fix the machines?" A hauntingly familiar voice asked.

"The damage is too severe, sir. It will take some time to repair it."

"Of course it is…" The voice sighed.

By this point, Italy had perked up at the sound of the familiar voice, and as he continued to listen to the man speak, a spark of recognition filled his eyes.

"Ve, Germany~!" Italy cried, overjoyed at hearing his dear friend's voice.

Romano on the other hand was far from pleased. "What's the potato-bastard doing here? Wait, this must be his fault! Chigi, I knew you couldn't trust a potato eater!"

Angrily getting to his feet, Romano made his way through the smoke toward where he heard the voices coming from. Oblivious of his brother's rage, Italy happily followed after him.

The first thing Romano noticed after stepping through the smoke was that, yes, the familiar voice he had heard was in fact Germany's. Who could mistake that bastard for anyone else? That stupid blonde hair of his, styled back in a fashion that prevented it from getting in his eyes. Cerulean blue eyes that had no real emotion in them, unless you count when he's angry, then he has some emotion. A permanent frown plastered on his face. His always neat and wrinkleless green uniform that had a cross at its neck, and the red armband on his right bicep with a backwards swastika… Wait, he had a what?

Romano's eyes widened in realization, if who he thought this guy was were right, then he and his brother were in some deep shit!

"Intruders!" The soldier standing beside the German man cried, before pulling out a gun and pointing it at the brothers.

"Ve! We surrender!" Italy wailed at the site of the gun. "Don't shoot, we have relatives in Berlin!"

Staring at the Italian brothers in a mix of surprise and excitement, the soldier with the gun turned to the German. "The machine worked!" He exclaimed in excitement. "We may not have been able to create a bridge to the other side, but we confirmed that it's possible to move between the two worlds!"

"Yes, we may still have a chance if we use the younger brother's connection with his land…" The German man mused in agreement.

By this time, even Italy began to notice that something was different about Germany. And the fact that the gun was still pointing at him and his fratello was unnerving. "Ve, Germany? W-what are you talking about?"

Beside Italy, Romano tensed.

Returning his gaze to the Italians, the German sneered. "Do not speak to me as though we are friends! You sniveling cowards are the reason we lost the war, you gave up so easily."

Italy jerked back as though struck. Never before, even at his angriest, has Germany spoken so harshly towards him. Tears filled his eyes. "G-germany…"

"Don't be fooled, fratello!" Romano interjected. "That's not the potato-bastard we know."

"Your bruder is correct, little coward." The man smiled cruelly. "I am not that fool Ludwig. My name is Tiede Beilschmidt! I am the Deutsches Reich, the 3rd German Empire! Nazi Germany. And I will have my revenge on the Allied nations for opposing my rightful claim for power! And I will start with the cowardly fools who allowed the Allies their first victory. Capture the Italians!"

Romano had prepared for this moment, and he was ready. Grabbing Italy's arm, Romano made a mad dash for the door, all the while screaming at his unresponsive brother.

"Run you idiot! Run! That's not Germany! He'll kill us both if he gets the chance! Run!"

O-O-O-O-O

**Review and tell me how I did! Reviewing motivates me to update faster. Just so you know.**

**Translations:**

**~Italian~**

**Fratello = Brother**

**Idiota = Idiot**

**~German~**

**Bruder = Brother**


	3. Brothers Separated

**Happy Birthday Alfred!**

**Okay, now that that is out of my system…**

**I hated writing this chapter; it was a pain in the ass! Took me a few tries before I got it started, but here it is. Hope you enjoy.**

**lasagnalover:****  
**Wow, you're quick! Glad you liked it. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter too. An alternate dimension, huh? That's one way of looking at it! Oh, and I think you'll be interested in the surprise at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: Hetalia and its respective characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya, but I do own the OC nations and the wolf in this chapter. Oh, and the plot!**

**Warnings: Cruelty, Romano's mouth/thoughts/way of thinking, blood (minor), and a close encounter with a wolf.**

_**Italics are for thoughts.**_

***From here on out, Nazi Germany will be referred to by his human name: Tiede Beilschmidt.* **

**REVIEW!**

**O-O-O-O-O**

Chapter 2: Brothers Separated

Tiede Beilschmidt watched, unconcerned, as the two Italians fled through the doorway and disappeared around the corner. Smirking in amusement, Tiede calmly made his way through the same doorway the two Italians had just fled through and strode purposefully down the corridor. Following obediently behind him, and nowhere near as calm as his superior, the soldier who had pulled the gun on the two brothers was starting to panic.

"Sir, what are we going to do?" The younger man cried, close to hysterics. "Those two were the result of weeks upon weeks of work! Now that they're gone all that work you put into that machine was for nothing! We have to catch them, but you saw how fast they were, there's no way we can catch them!"

Tiede laughed, highly amused by the man's panicked babbling. "Under normal circumstances you would be correct, those two **are** notorious for their speed while in retreat, but that speed of theirs is useless here."

"What do you mean, sir?" The soldier questioned, confused.

"Those two believe that they are still in their own world, and they will more than likely be heading south where they believe they will escape to Italy. But therein lays the problem, this isn't their world and there isn't an Italy to escape to." Tiede explained. "Things work differently here, and we can use that knowledge to our advantage."

The soldier's eyes widened in understanding. "You mean?"

"Yes." Tiede acknowledge, pleased with the man's perceptiveness. "There are only four access points into my providence, and we already know that they are heading south…"

"So all we have to do is set up an ambush at the southern entrance and wait for them to come to us!" The soldier finished excitedly.

Tiede nodded his approval. "Exactly. It may take them awhile to discover that they cannot scale the walls that define my territory, but even so, we will have to be quick if we are to beat them to the access point. "

"Yes sir! I will inform the others now."

As the soldier hurried ahead to tell the others, Tiede continued his leisurely pace down the corridor. "And if they do somehow manage to escape, they won't get far before they are captured again. There are nations here who are not as merciful as me: Soviet Union and Native America being the least likely to spare trespassers."

Despite himself, Tiede couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

O-O-O-O-O

It was an imposing piece of work. The wall had to be no less than 10 feet tall, its stone bocks had to of been just as thick. At the top, barely visible, barbed wire wound its way along the structure. The thing seemed to go on as far as the eye could see.

Romano scowled, unimpressed. "What the hell is this?"

Beside him, Feliciano blinked in confusion. "Ve~, Fratello? I think it's a wall."

Turning his angry scowl on his brother, Romano all but howled. "Chigi! I know it's a damn wall, idiota! What I wanted to know was why there's a damn wall here in the first place! Who the hell puts up a wall in the middle of nowhere! What is this, China?"

"Fratello!" Feliciano gasped. "That's mean!"

"Whatever." Romano grumbled.

Sending the wall one last glare for good measure, Romano started to stalk along the wall's base. Behind him, Feliciano was silent as he obediently followed his brother. Aside from the wall, there wasn't much else to look at. After they had escaped from Tiede's base, they had briefly passed through a town, but it wasn't long before they were out of town and running through a forest that had been at the town's outskirts. It was while running through the forest that they had run into the wall. Well, Romano literally ran into the wall, which would explain the other's foul mood.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime later, Feliciano couldn't keep quiet any longer. That and something confused him about where they were headed.

"Fratello?" Feliciano asked uncertainly.

"Yea what?" His brother grouched, still in a bad mood.

"Ve… Where are we going, fratello?" Feliciano asked meekly.

Giving a long suffering sigh, Romano turned to glare at his brother. "Isn't it obvious?" After receiving nothing but a long drawn out "ve" in response, Romano begrudgingly continued. "We're getting the hell out of here! Since the sooner we get out of here means the sooner we can tell the others what that damn potato eating lunatic is up to! And the sooner we tell the others means the sooner I get to watch someone kick the damn bastard's ass! I want to see that bastard get his ass handed to himself after what he did to us! Now move it!"

Finishing his rant, Romano started off again. But this time Feliciano didn't follow. Noticing this, Romano once again stopped to glare at his brother, unamused. "What now?"

"But, I thought we were heading towards home?"

Growling in aggravation, Romano grit his teeth to prevent himself from yelling, and said in the calmest voice he could muster. "We **are** going home Veneciano. How else would we inform our boss of the potato-bastard's twin trying to use us a lab rats and getting the word out to the others. That and I think they need to know that he's trying to take over the world, again."

"Oh…" Feliciano murmured thoughtfully. Then he blinked in confusion. "But fratello, if we're going home why are we heading towards big brother France's and big brother Spain's houses?"

Silence.

And then.

"Cosa!"

O-O-O-O-O

Silence filled the air. No one dared speak, lest they risk giving away their position and unintentionally warning the Italians of their presence. Hidden in the midst of the trees with his men at the south entrance, Tiede waited impatiently for the brothers to appear. It wasn't until a few hours had passed before he suspected something wasn't right. Italians were supposed to be quicker than this. Something that wasn't part of the plan must have taken place.

"Sir?" One of his men approached him uncertainly. "Shouldn't they have been here by now?"

No longer concerned with being overheard, Tiede didn't bother reprimanding the man for giving away his position. "Ja, you're right. Something I didn't foresee must have transpired."

"You don't think they already passed through here and escaped through the portal, do you?" The man asked, worried.

"Nein, I doubt that happened." Tiede reassured. "They don't know the layout of the land as well as I do, and even if those fools have simple knowledge of Germany's geography it won't help them. I personally saw to it that my land was different from Ludwig's. It is likely that they are simply lost, and they went in the wrong direction."

"What should we do, sir?" Another soldier asked. The other soldiers had also revealed themselves after it became apparent that the Italian weren't going to show up.

Tiede weighed his options carefully, he could lead his men to another portal, but the chance of him leading his men to the wrong portal was too likely. There was also the chance that the Italians could reach the southern portal just as he and his men left. He could split up his men and send them to all four entrances, but that would severely weaken his forces. But what other choice did he have?

"All right, we'll separate into four groups. I want three of our scouts to head to the other entrances. Should you locate the Italians I want you shoot a signal flare into the air to signal the rest of us so that we can assist you. There will be three other groups who will also be heading to your locations. Since you scouts are faster than the rest of us I want you to stall the Italians should you encounter them, it will take some time for backup to arrive, so be prepared to have to handle things on your own until backup arrives. Your orders are to shoot to maim, not kill. I want them alive, is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" All the soldiers answered in unison, the scouts leaving quickly afterwards.

O-O-O-O-O

It took Feliciano a few minutes before he could calm Romano down. He was used to his brother's tendency to swear at anything and everything that breathed when he was angry, but that didn't mean that Feliciano liked it when his brother was upset. Feliciano didn't like it when anybody got angry for that matter; he was a pacifist after all.

Smiling comfortingly at his brother, Feliciano gently grabbed his brother's hand before leading him in the direction they had been going in earlier. "It's okay fratello, maybe big brothers Spain and France can help us?"

"I don't want to have to deal with those bastards." Romano groaned. "I don't know which one is worse: the perverted toad or the overbearing tomato."

Feliciano giggled in amusement, his brother was always so funny.

"It's not funny!" Romano howled. "We wouldn't be in this mess if you'd told me sooner that I was going in the wrong damn direction! Why didn't you tell me sooner that I wasn't going south? Not only have I been forced to deal with that damn German trying to kill us, but now I'm going to deal with that idiotic Spaniard trying to be all lovey-dovey and crap. Two idiots in one day! I can't deal with that, I'll go insane! I swear, one of these days you're going to-!"

It wasn't until Romano bumped into Feliciano that he realized his brother had stopped walking. Confused, Romano stared at his brother uncomprehendingly for a minute before he realized what was wrong.

Germany was what was the matter, or rather, the guy who looked like Germany. The guy had basically called him and his brother worthless cowards, and he had made it pretty obvious that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt them. That Tiede bastard has something nasty planned for them, Feliciano in particular, but what that something is still eludes Romano. Something about the whole thing didn't feel right, unfortunately, Romano couldn't do anything about it until he got more information. All those years putting up with the mafia has prepared him to deal with a lot of things.

Feliciano's feelings on the other hand were something completely different. His brother was pretty shaken up after his encounter with Ludwig's doppelganger, it was no wonder he was so out of it when they were escaping from the city. Feliciano didn't really snap out of his stupor until they were well out of the city and weaving through the forests' trees. Romano didn't really think about how the encounter affected his brother until now. He had seemed fine just a little while ago… Did his brother really hide his pain behind a smile like Kiku claimed he did?

Heart pounding, Romano approached his brother. "Feli…?"

"Freatello…?" Feliciano blinked.

"I… Uh, I just… You see…" Romano fumbled for words.

"What's that?" Feliciano inquired, not having been paying attention to his brother the whole time. "It looks like a door! Fratello, I found a way out~!"

"Ah?" Romano choked, unsure if he should be pissed or relieved at his brother's short attention span. Ok, he was relieved, but he didn't have to tell anyone that! Least of all his big-mouthed little brother who can't keep anything to himself!

Not giving his brother the chance to notice that that he had been worried (as if Feliciano would have noticed anyway), Romano quickly put on a scowl and snorted. "A door?" He scoffed. "How the hell is there a door out here, we're in the middle of a damn forest?"

"It's built into the wall." Feliciano pointed a little in front of them.

Following the direction his brother's finger was pointing, Romano squawked in surprise. There, built into the wall was a door. Or, to be more accurate, what seemed to have the appearance of a door. It was a tunnel carved out of the wall more than anything.

"That thing looks more like one of that crackpot England's wannabe spells than a door." Romano observed. "It looks more like a portal than anything. Look at the way the entryway is shimmering. I don't think this thing is safe…"

"Ve~?" Feliciano pouted at his brother's skepticism. Walking closer to the "door", Feliciano made to stick his hand through the shimmering image.

"Wait!" Romano shrieked, panicked. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't know if that thing is safe or not!"

Smiling happily at his brother's obvious concern, Feliciano turned to face his brother, but while still being close to the portal. "Ve~, don't worry fratello! It's like what was in one of Alfred's movies! You just walk through it and it'll take you somewhere! It doesn't hurt; it's supposed to feel like walking through water! Alfred said so."

**Bang!**

Romano never got the chance to retort to what his brother said. At that moment, a gunshot tore through the forest.

Time seemed to stand still. Romano watched in horror as Feliciano's body suddenly jerked back from the force of the surprise hit, he saw the look of pain cross his brother's face and could just see the blood starting to blossom on his brother's stomach area before his body was flung through the portal. His brother was gone…

Blood boiling, Romano whirled around to where the shot came from. Standing a few feet away, gun in hand, was a German soldier.

Instincts and a sudden desire for blood taking over, Romano whipped out the gun hidden in the jacket of his suit and shot the German scout. The man fell; Romano didn't give him any chance of avoiding the shot. All those years working for the Italian mafia taught Romano to be fast, and lethal. No one messed with his famiglia and lived to tell about it!

Not sticking around to see if the man got back up or not (he didn't care if he killed him or not, he had more important things to worry about), Romano quickly followed his brother into the portal. But not before noticing the red signal flare that had been shot into the sky. He should have noticed that sooner, maybe then his brother wouldn't have been shot.

O-O-O-O-O

Unbearable pain shot through Italy's abdomen. Tears welling up in his eyes; all he could do was curl up into a tiny ball and sob. He hadn't felt this bad since the earthquake of L'Aquila. But that was a force of Mother Nature, this was so much worse. This was someone willingly causing harm to another person, and to Italy, that's what made that much worse.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed that way. It could have been seconds, hours, maybe even days. But it wasn't until he heard footsteps that he became somewhat aware of his surroundings again.

Standing above him, right out of a nightmare, was the biggest wolf that Italy had ever seen. Its pale coat was bright in the light of the moon, and its gold eyes bore down on Italy with such intelligence and hatred that he felt like he had been shot all over again.

Baring its teeth threateningly, the wolf lunged for Italy's throat. Choking in terror and pain, all Italy could do was close his eyes and wait for the end.

"That's enough, Fang!" A new, and somewhat familiar, voice called out from the darkness.

When no pain followed, Italy hesitantly opened his eyes. The wolf, Fang, had retreated a few feet from Italy and was glaring almost exasperatedly at the figure that had suddenly appeared beside the injured Italian.

Gently taking Italy's hand into his own, the stranger's deep blue eyes locked with the injured Italian's stunned stare. "Can you hear me? Are you still coherent?" The boy asked in concern, his blue eyes only leaving Italy's long enough to assess the others injuries.

"S-sí…" Italy choked, still staring at those familiar blue eyes.

"Okay, good, that's good…" Distractedly, the boy glanced at the wolf as it suddenly started growling. "Yes Fang, I know he's not from around here, but I can't just leave him here! He'll die!" More growling. "That's just it, he's not dead. He still has a connection with his land, I can sense it."

As the wolf started growling again, sending the boy into a tirade about helping those in need and how a certain "hero" would have done it without a second thought, Italy took this time to study the boy's features more closely.

The boy was wearing some form of military uniform that Italy had never seen before; he couldn't discern its color (it was still dark out), on the boy's head almost covering his eyes was a military cap. Unfortunately, Italy couldn't see his hair because of the cap, but he could still see his face. Those blue eyes… That voice… And his facial features… They all matched perfectly! Maybe, just maybe, Italy had found someone who wouldn't hurt him?

But what if it was the same as what happened with Germany? Would this boy who looks so much like his friend try to hurt him? Italy's heart wouldn't be able to handle it!

However, as his vision started to fade, Italy knew that he had to risk it. With his free hand, Italy gently touched the boy's cheek, catching his attention. "…Aiuto… Per favore"

"W-what?" The boy asked, worried.

"P-please… Help…me… Alfred…"

Everything went black as the boy's eyes widened in shock.

**O-O-O-O-O**

**Translations**

**Italian:****  
Fratello = Brother  
Idiota = Idiot  
Cosa = What  
Famiglia = Family  
Sí = Yes  
Aiuto = Help  
Per Favore = Please  
**

**German:****  
Ja = Yes  
Nein = No **

**Did I really just do that to poor Italy? I guess so… Hey, it's nowhere near as bad as what happens in Hetaoni! This is mild stuff compared to that!**

**Anyway, those of you who know you're American history can probably guess who the newest arrival is!**

**Come on people, I know there are more of you out there! I wanna know what ya think!**

**Review!**


	4. America's Lost

**Research…research…and, oh look, more research! Man, why do I have to be so obsessed with historical accuracy? Bah!**

**Anyway, here is chapter 3! About time, right?**

**Sloth Tolos**: Wow, you like it that much? I'm honored! I hope you keep reading and telling me what you think!

**PridexWretchedluver4ever**: Mean? I'm not mean, evil maybe, but never mean. Just to prove you wrong here is chapter 3 and look, no cliff hanger!

**Disclaimer: Hetalia and its respective characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

_**Italics are for memories, dreams, and thoughts.**_

Chapter 3: America's Lost

_It had only been a few days since the Battle of Gettysburg took place, and he had been soundly beaten. His army surrounded and captured, and his body heavily wounded and unable to move. Above him, gun in hand and poised to deliver the finishing blow, stood Union. However, instead of being killed then and there by his victorious brother, he was spared. _

_Now don't get him wrong, he was grateful for being spared, but the whole thing confused the heck out of him! After all, the brothers had spent a good part of the last 3 years trying to kill each other. Could those harsh four years full of anger and hatred really be so readily forgotten?_

_Deep down, he really hoped so. Even at the beginning of the war, he had never truly hated his brother, and he believed that his brother had felt the same. But as a nation it was their duty to fight for their people, for their children. No matter their views, despite what their connection is to another nation, if their children feel threatened and wish to go to war than they will obediently follow. It was this saying that Arthur-Great Britain- had drilled into Alfred when he was still just a colony. And it had stuck._

"**Listen closely lad, it is your duty as a nation to protect your people. It doesn't matter if you yourself don't want to fight; if your children are going off to war you have to join them. You must always fight beside them, support them, and protect them to the best of your abilities… After all, what is a nation without its people?"**

_It had been that very lesson that had finally convinced Alfred to fight in the Revolution. He loved Arthur dearly, loved him as if he were of his own blood, but America's people had wanted to be free from the king's rule, and even America himself desired that freedom. And so, America fought for his freedom alongside his people just as Great Britain had taught him to. But Arthur's heart had been broken in the process, and Alfred lost the bond he once had with his beloved brother. Neither were the same after that._

_And now, a century later, Alfred had once again been forced to take part in another war. This time he would take the name Union, and he would be fighting an extension of himself, the Confederacy. Neither Union nor Confederacy wanted to fight, but their children didn't see eye-to-eye and started war with each other. And so brother once again battled brother. And Alfred once again claimed victory._

_So now, beaten and heavily wounded, Confederacy waits in the guest bedroom of Alfred's Pennsylvanian home for the others return and, to some extent, the decision of his fate. _

_So deep in his thoughts and worries about what was to become of him, Confederacy didn't notice when Union entered the room with another guest._

"_So, this is the infamous Confederate States of America you've told me so much about, Alfred?" A deep voice broke into Confederacy's thoughts, alerting him to the new arrivals. Glancing over at the doorway he nearly had a heart attack when he saw who it was standing there._

_Beside Alfred, standing proudly over six feet tall was none other than the President of the United States of America: President Abraham Lincoln. Confederacy had only ever heard about President Lincoln through his boss and what his fellow soldiers had told him. What he had heard about the man had made him uneasy, but seeing him in person was a completely different experience. Lincoln's stern features, inhuman height, and the rumors about him becoming monstrous when he lost his temper were enough to send Confederacy into a state of panic. Add in the fact that he was wounded and helpless only made him feel even worse! _

_Unaware of Confederacy's discomfort, Alfred happily answered Lincoln. "Yep, this is Confederacy!" Glancing over towards said nation, Alfred frowned at the other's heavily bandaged person. "He's still a little banged up, but I'm sure he'll be happy for the company. I haven't gotten the chance to talk with him yet. You know, having to deal with all the bigwigs back in DC and all. They're totally killing my social life with all their constant questions and nagging…"_

_Chuckling at the nation's childishness, Lincoln had to agree with him. "They do tend to try and run your life." Lincoln's amusement only grew at Alfred's exclamation of "Exactly!" to his statement, but he quickly sobered when he asked his next question. "You haven't told anyone except myself that Confederacy is still alive, correct? You know what would happen if word got out that the Rebel nation still lives?"_

"_Of course I know…" Alfred muttered, uncomfortable with the topic since Confederacy was right there. "They'd try to kill him."_

"_Exactly." Lincoln agreed solemnly. "They would show him no mercy."_

"_But…wouldn't that be a good thing? Me dying that is…" A meek voice suddenly piped up._

_Both turned to Confederacy in shock. The sudden attention made Confederacy uncomfortable and he futilely tried to hide himself from the two men's intense stares. _

"_W-why would you say such a thing?" Alfred cried, horrified._

_Taken slightly aback at Alfred's sudden cry, Confederacy couldn't find the courage to speak against him._

"_Dear boy," Lincoln asked gently, almost soothingly. "Do you honestly believe that you are to blame for this war?"_

_Gaping at his boss in shock, Alfred turned to Confederacy just in time to see him weakly nod._

_Shaking his head sadly, Lincoln slowly approached the bed, all too aware that he was treating the ex-nation as though he were a scared wounded animal backed into a corner when the boy started to shake. Sitting at the foot of the bed, since the little nation had only cowered away from him when he had tried to sit beside him, Lincoln motioned for Alfred to approach as well. But instead respecting the younger boy's need for space, Alfred was quick to sit himself right beside the boy and grab him in a smothering embrace._

_Instead of fighting to get out of the grip like Lincoln had thought he would, Confederacy actually relaxed into Alfred's hold, seeming to of needed physical contact to calm himself. Was this the first time the boy had experienced positive physical contact? The thought made Lincoln ill. "This isn't your fault dear boy." Lincoln started when he was certain the little nation had had more time to calm down. "This war had started long before you were even born."_

_Realization struck Alfred. "Y-yea, that's right!" He exclaimed excitedly, unintentionally startling the younger nation cocooned in his arms. "You were born a whole year after the fight started! There's no way the war could be your fault! If you ask me it's your boss' fault, not yours!"_

"_But still, I caused both of you a lot of trouble." Confederacy muttered, ashamed. "Don't you hate me for that?"_

"_Never!"_

"_Of course not, dear boy."_

_Tears filling his eyes, Confederacy choked on a sob. "How can you say that so easily? I… I don't understand…"_

"_What's to understand?" Alfred huffed, miffed. "You didn't start the war, so I aint gonna blame you for it! Sure we fought and nearly killed each other half a dozen times, but that's what happens when you're a soldier! And besides, you were just doing what a nation is supposed to do. You fought for your people and I fought for mine. Do you hate me for fighting you?"_

"_No, of course not."_

"_Then what's the problem? I don't hate you, you don't hate me, so now we can go on with our lives not hating each other and being a family!" Alfred exclaimed excitedly._

"_A family…?" Confederacy blinked._

"_Yep, whether you like it or not, we're family now!" Laughing obnoxiously, Alfred tightened his grip on the other, unconsciously bringing the smaller nation closer to his chest as if to protect him when old memories of the Revolution resurfaced. "I don't want to lose another brother because of a stupid misunderstanding…" It was muttered so softly that even when pressed so close to the other, Confederacy almost couldn't make out what the other said._

"_Thank you…" He choked, still crying, but strangely happy._

"_Of course," Lincoln piped up after keeping quiet for so long to allow the brothers to have their moment. "Everyone deserves a second chance…"_

"A second chance…" Confederacy heard himself mutter as he slowly started to regain consciousness. Groggy, and still half asleep, it took the ex-nation a moment to realize that he had only been dreaming, and that he was no longer in the comforting presence of his brother and President Lincoln. Slightly disheartened, Confederacy groaned in disappointment. "It was only a dream… Or a memory... Ugh, of course it was only a memory; I've dead for what, over a century?"

Snorting in amusement at the absurd statement, Confederacy sat up stiffly. Wincing at the unexpected soreness in his back, he absently rubbed at the spot while simultaneously yawning. "Jeeze, why am I so sore? Did Fang kick me out of the bed again?" Glancing to his right, Confederacy was greeted by the sight of his bed, messy and empty. "Great, another night on the floor… I swear, that mutt is more spoiled than a… a… Oh crap! That's right!"

Panic started to set in as memories of last night started to come back to him. A boy, wounded and scared found near the southern portal to his providence. The boy was so confused that he had mistaken Confederacy for Alfred, and had even asked the ex-nation for help. Fang had been all too willing to leave the boy to die, but Confederacy couldn't just leave him there. So he brought the wounded nation back to his cabin, far from prying eyes and surrounded by trees. They wouldn't be discovered easily.

Patching up the wounded nation had been a nerve racking experience, Confederacy didn't know that much about first aid except for the small lessons he got while on the battlefield. Luckily, for both the wounded nation and Confederacy, the wound hadn't been that serious. Whoever had shot the brown haired nation had no intention of killing him; the bullet had missed the vital organs all together and had lodged itself in his side. All Confederacy had to do was remove the bullet, but that had proved harder than he expected since Fang kept insisting that he was doing everything wrong and he had already been nervous beforehand. After the bullet had finally been removed (and Fang's maw taped shut to keep him quiet), Confederacy had disinfected the wound and wrapped it up to keep it from getting infected, he even loaned the nation one of his nightgowns so as not to irritate the wound, pants tend to hug the hips and would only make the wound more painful.

After everything had been cleaned up and Fang's maw untapped (he got the cold shoulder for the rest of the night after that), the injured nation was then transferred to the only bed in the house to rest while Confederacy and Fang camped out on the floor to keep an eye on him throughout the night, just in case. But now the bed was empty and the wounded nation missing. Fang was also nowhere in sight, that spelled trouble.

"Shit!" Confederacy swore as he jumped to his feet and bolted out the door that separated his room from the rest of the cabin. The fear of the state he'd find the already wounded boy after Fang got done with him scared the ex-nation, Fang wasn't cruel by any means, he was just a very bitter and untrusting wolf, especially to those he did not know. And with the boy here there was no telling what state of mind the bitter little wolf was in.

Confederacy had just stepped into the kitchen when he stopped dead in his tracks.

His kitchen looked like a war zone.

O-O-O-O-O

Romano knew something was wrong the minute he had stepped through the portal. Not only was the hamburger-bastard right about walking through a portal feeling the same as walking through water (when that idiot was right about something you knew you were screwed), but Feli was nowhere in sight. Feliciano had been shot, he was wounded and bleeding (add to that that Feliciano had no tolerance to pain), there was no way he could have moved himself so far from the portal in the short amount of time that it took Romano to follow him. Something was horribly wrong.

"Feliciano! Dove si trova?" Romano cried, unintentionally reverting to his native tongue in his panic. "Feliciano!"

No answer…

"**FELICIANO!**"

"You are very loud." Someone suddenly piped up from behind Romano.

Giving a high pitched shriek, Romano whirled around to see who it was that had spoken.

It was a woman.

A beautiful woman as a matter of fact.

Since it was still dark and the trees blocked out what little light the moon provided, Romano couldn't really make out details of the woman's features. What he could make out was that she had a dark complexion with long dark hair that was tied into braids with pale feathers woven into the braids. Her clothes were the most bizarre; she appeared to be wearing a dress made out of animal fur with matching leggings and leathered shoes held together by animal hide strings.

And her eyes… They were the same as Grandpa Rome's; those were the eyes of an ancient nation who had seen many battles and had witnessed death on a large scale.

This woman was not someone to be taken lightly.

"You are not supposed to be here…" The woman commented absently.

"And why the hell not?" Romano snapped, suddenly defensive. He knew this woman wasn't someone to be taken lightly, but he had a little brother to find, and no chick with a creepy disposition was going to stop him. There is nothing she can say that would deter him!

"You are not dead." She said bluntly, taking Romano completely by surprise.

_C-cosa?_

He must have had a look on his face that showed just how stupefied he was because she went into more detail… Not that it helped his developing headache.

"You are in what passes as the afterlife for nations, when a nation is defeated in battle or they simply fade from existence this is where their spirit goes. My nation is gone and I am dead, so I came here, but you still have a connection with your land and you are not dead, so you should not be here." She explained matter-of-factly.

"B-but how?" Romano sputtered, suddenly feeling lightheaded. "That doesn't make any sense! How can I be in the afterlife?"

"Someone has been messing with forces that should not be tampered with." She admitted somberly. "Something powerful is at work here."

Something suddenly occurred to Romano. "Wait a minute, why the hell should I believe you? For all I know you're working for that Tiede bastard and trying to throw me off course! Who are you lady, and why should I believe anything you say?"

Her dark eyes bore into Romano with such intensity that he started to rethink his decision to talk back to her. There was no telling what this woman could do. She had the same eyes as his grandfather, and Grandpa Rome had had a dark haunted look in his eyes.

"I have many names…" The woman finally answered after a few tense minutes had past. "My people had many different names that they called me, but you may call me by the name that the Hopi tribe gave me: Hehewuti. I was never given a nation name by my people, there was no need, but when those pale invaders came I was given the title of Native America. But I am no longer a nation, now I am merely a mother who wants nothing more than to hold her children in her arms."

"A mother?" Romano blinked, trying to remember where he had heard that name.

"Yes, and I believe we may be able to help each other…"

O-O-O-O-O

"What the heck happened in here?" Confederacy gasped in shock.

His kitchen was a complete mess. Pieces of food was strewn everywhere, dishes were piled up, and Fang was covered in flour and cowering under the kitchen table.

"Buongiorno Alfred~!" Feliciano sang happily when he caught sight of who he thought was one of his dear friends. Proudly holding up the pot he held in his hands, Feliciano's smile got brighter. "I made pasta for breakfast with bread~! Come on come on let's eat!"

Openly gaping at the other's energy and thoroughly confused about the whole situation that he had just found himself in, Confederacy couldn't help but wonder.

_Just what have I gotten myself into…?_

O-O-O-O-O

**Translations  
****Italian:  
Dove si trova? = Where are you?  
Cosa? = What?  
Buongiorno = Hello and Good Morning**

**What's in a name? ****(Should have done this sooner)  
Tiede – Ruler of the people  
Hehewuti – Warrior mother spirit (Hopi)**

**If I translated something wrong please feel free to tell me!**

**Review! It's a great motivator! **


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